More coolness from recent weeks…
Personalized, adorable, affordable. What more do you want in a baby gift?
Personalized items make spectacular baby gifts because it shows you've gone an extra mile beyond the burp cloth sets, beyond the registry essentials. The one catch is, the gift can't be returned. The pressure is on!I can't imagine a single mama who wouldn't love...
You’re never too little to be a bibliophile. Only to know how to spell it.
Like tons of practical moms like me, my favorite gift to give or to get is a book. And if you want to get fancy about it, check out Bookworm Baskets, where the great book is just the beginning of a fantastic gift.It starts with a fabulous read like The Giving Tree,...
When labeling kids is a good thing
We've certainly seen our fair share of personalized gifts here at Cool Mom Picks, but we've yet to run across a service such as the one offered by Sweetwater Street. Design savvy owner Lisa Burnett will transform one of her modern designs (or one of your very own)...
Grandpa sweaters from Georgie World. Why wait til you’re an actual grandpa?
I'm not so inclined to follow the trends when it comes to clothing my son, unless that trend happens to be self-washing clothes that withstand blueberry stains. But if the trend is cute and practical, say cardigans for fall, then I'm all over it. Which is why I'm...
Don’t know much about teratology, but Belli does
I'm conspicuously absent from photos taken after the birth of each of my babies. I know a lot of you mamas knows what I'm talking about. But it wasn't even my complexion and weight that were making me camera-shy; it was my lady parts--my tender c-section incision and...
Candles Worthy of that Special Birthday Cake
I tend to spend so much time worrying about the gory details of my kids' parties that the birthday candles are the last thing that I think about. In fact, one year, I almost forgot them. Bad bad mommy.So, if you've got a kiddo with a birthday on the horizon, snag one...
Isabella Oliver – Taking the Maternity Wrap Dress to a Whole New Level
If there's one essential in any maternity wardrobe, I'd have to go with a wrap dress. It's generally flattering to all body shapes, regardless of which direction your belly and butt tends to spread, although if not done well, it can definitely look heavy with all...
Tweed: In. Cool.
CMP fave indie handbag designer Crystalyn Kae has taken the plunge into tweed and I'm not complaining a bit. The fabric formerly known as stuffy gets a fabulous makeover with Crystalyn's innovative shapes, judicious use of hardware, and contrasting accent fabrics. Her...
The perfect kids jeans jacket. At last! At last!
I have been on the hunt for the perfect children's jeans jacket ever since my baby outgrew the one handed down from her sister. And by outgrew I mean I continued to stuff her into it until it simply became cruel and unusual punishment. Gimos Kidswear has totally saved...
White Trash Mom – Trailer Not Required
If you're having trouble keeping up with the Joneses then you'll want to snatch up a copy of White Trash Mom, a veritable guilt-free school mom's tome from authors Michelle Lamar and Molly Wendland. Don't let the title scare off you urban mamas - this hilarious book...
Flaunting my lack of greeting card-making talent
The most thoughtful cards are ones you make yourself, I suppose, if you have any sort of artistic ability. If you want a card with a smudged scribble and some glitter on it, I could probably manage that. But when I want to send the very best, I tend to look around for...
Adorn your keys, you classy thing you
I haven't had a keychain since college, when we attached our keys to ID holders and waved them around at football games. Since I've (hopefully) evolved since then, I've decided to add a little personality and style to my keys. At least until they, too, become replaced...
Help Me Rhonda!
At a recent book festival in metro Atlanta, I had the pleasure of discovering Miss Rhonda's Readers, a local company that creates phonetically-correct books for little bookworms. What's interesting about them, other than the fact that you won't find one...
A shirt as cute as you make it
I know there's not really a shortage of big bro/sis shirts or birthday number shirts out there, so it shouldn't be hard to track down at least one that I love. But alas, I'm picky. So when given the option of creating my very own thanks to the folks at Simply Colors,...
Why no, she’s not a boy. Funny you should ask.
The first day of kindergarten is tough enough, but imagine little Yoon's horror when a bunch of kids try to get her to stand in line with the boys because of her short hair. So starts the tale of Something for School, by Hyun Young Lee, a nice break from the same old...
Hazelnut Kids – Our kind of toy store
One of the best outcomes of the toy recalls of 07 is the transparency we're now finding from so many retailers--where and how their products are made, what they're made with, and how confident you can be when your 9 month spends the better part of her day with the...
Designer dresses designed by daughters
Sadly, shopping with my daughter is already filled with bargaining (if not actual bargains), and she isn't even a surly tween yet. So I've got Style for Grace to thank for a remarkably relaxed and enjoyable mother-daughter shopping experience--that took place right...
And all the little people said “om”
While I can't say I'm educated on Eastern principles of living, I'm all for anything that helps me continue to integrate organic practices and principles into my daily parenting ritual. Thus is the case with My Little Pakora.This mom-owned shop offers an array of...
Sleep is For the Weak book signing, Brooklyn edition
Okay all you tri-state mamas, we're counting on you to come out to the fine borough of Brooklyn tomorrow, September 12, for a star-studded (well, in our own minds) book party for Sleep is for the Weak sponsored by the very good folks of Graco.Participating signers/...
Not your average birthday party decor
Today is my birthday and it's a big one. 29.Yep. That's right. 29.Oh how I wish I had the guts to make use of one of the bad party buntings, aka "festoons of gloom" from UK shop Twisted Twee. The banners eschew some trite happy birthday message for sayings like life...
LOVE IS organic denim. Love is also having the money to afford organic denim.
I am definitely, undoubtedly, google-ably on the record as having some issues with expensive toddler jeans. I was never quite sure why you'd shell out $110 on some mass produced, made-in-China jeans just because it had a name brand label on the back. Then I found LOVE...